Boy Kills World's Isaiah Mustafa & Andrew Koji On Nonsensical Characters And Spectacular Stunts

Summary Andrew Koji and Isaiah Mustafa shine in Boy Kills World, delivering a blend of comedy and drama seamlessly.

The duo were given largely free rein in playing their outrageous characters, particularly Mustafa's Benny, whose dialogue is largely incomprehensible in the movie.

Mustafa hopes for a spinoff focusing on his and Koji's characters, teasing a possible prequel.

Andrew Koji and Isaiah Mustafa return to the action genre with Boy Kills World. After finding international acclaim with the Bruce Lee-based martial arts crime drama Warrior, Koji has since continued his success in the genre with his turns as Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe prequel spinoff Snake Eyes and in the Brad Pitt-led ensemble action-comedy Bullet Train. Mustafa, on the other hand, first became a household name as the face of Old Spice ads beginning in 2010, while going on to star in It: Chapter Two as an adult Mike Hanlon and Freeform's Shadowhunters adaptation.

In Boy Kills World, Koji stars as Basho, a quick-talking prisoner of the villainous Van Der Koy family, whom Bill Skarsgård's titular hero frees. Basho introduces him to the resistance movement aiming to take down a rich family. Despite the grandiose plans, the movement ultimately only consists of Basho and Mustafa's Benny, a grizzled fighter whose dialogue is incomprehensible to Boy, lending to the movie's unique blend of comedy and drama.

Related Boy Kills World Review: Old-School Revenge Thriller Shows Just How Tough Bill Skarsgard Is Skarsgård and Benjamin make for an odd pair that work well together. Mohr's vision is clear and realized, and the resulting work of art is exciting.

Alongside Skarsgård, Koji, and Mustafa, the ensemble Boy Kills World cast includes Famke Janssen, Brett Gelman, Michelle Dockery, Jessica Rothe, Sharlto Copley, Yayan Ruhian and Archer's H. Jon Benjamin as Boy's inner voice. Based on a proof-of-concept trailer from director Moritz Mohr and co-writer Arend Remmers and produced by Sam Raimi, the movie is a no-holds-barred and hilarious thrill ride.

In anticipation of the movie's release, Screen Rant interviewed Andrew Koji and Isaiah Mustafa to discuss Boy Kills World, the former's first real dive into a strictly comedic character, the latter's uniquely indiscernible character, the hilarity of working with one another, and teaming with the Warrior stunt team to craft their action sequences.

Koji & Mustafa Were The Ultimate Buddy Duo On Set

Though the main focus of the movie may be Skarsgård's titular character, Koji and Mustafa's Basho and Benny get plenty of screen time in Boy Kills World to play off one another, with the dynamic being reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy's Rocket Raccoon and Groot as the former acts as a sort of interpreter for the latter. For the duo, this clearly translated into a real-life bond offscreen as they brought their wild characters to life:

Andrew Koji: Thank you, I'm a dramatic, serious actor. [Chuckles] It's fun to be silly for a bit, and to kind of let loose, not take it so seriously, yet still taking it seriously, at the same time. You gotta mix worlds together. This comedy drama is light and dark. Isaiah Mustafa: Yeah, it was very difficult with this [Andrew Koji's goofy behavior] going on all the time. So, this is exactly what you got every day. Andrew Koji: Yeah, I'm helping, if anything. Isaiah Mustafa: Yeah, only he understood it. And the point was just to say it with conviction, and try to make him break. That was my whole game plan going into it. [Laughs] Andrew Koji: And that went very well. [Laughs] That's what he does all the time. Honestly, he sometimes just talks, and I'm just like, "Yeah, sure. I don't know what he's saying." And I would be like, "Yeah, mate, great! That's great, Isaiah." [Chuckles] Isaiah Mustafa: Honestly. [Chuckles]

Unlike their similar Marvel Cinematic Universe pairing, however, Mustafa and Koji didn't have a glossary for Benny's nonsensical dialogue, instead going off of the overall feel of the scenes:

Isaiah Mustafa: No, no, Moritz was cool about just saying, "You'll understand what's happening in the scene, so you'll know how to play it." So, he was very good with just letting me work those weird words into the situation.

Koji & Mustafa "Rocked Up" With The Boy Kills World Stunt Team

With the movie having filmed in South Africa, Koji found himself reuniting with some of the stunt team from Warrior, which led to a fun collaboration between them and Mustafa as they "rocked up" on the first day and began planning out their action scenes:

Andrew Koji: Yeah, we kind of rocked up in there the first day like, "Guys, this is how it needs to be done." Isaiah Mustafa: "We rocked up in there." [Laughs] Andrew Koji: "Get your notepads out, notepads out, notepads out, good." We took them to school, mate. Isaiah Mustafa: Because he shoots Warrior, he was shooting Warrior in South Africa, he already had all the stuntmen in his pocket. So, when we showed up, we had a game plan, and he was like, "No, no, no, fellas," and then they all just kind of flocked to him, and he said, "This is what we're gonna do." Andrew Koji: I was on a pedestal, literal, and made sure they all knew it. [Laughs] But, yeah, it was good, it was fun. We had fun with the action sequences, that was a blast holding the gun. You [Isaiah] dropped it a few times. Isaiah Mustafa: Yeah, I dropped my gun a bunch of times. They actually started taking it from me and then handing it back right before action. [Laughs]

Mustafa Has A Great Idea For A Boy Kills World Spinoff

As the likes of the John Wick franchise have seen expansions of their worlds with spinoffs focused on other characters, Mustafa shared his hopes for a Boy Kills World spinoff that he thinks would be exciting for him and Koji:

Isaiah Mustafa: I want to say one last thing, though. We want to make sure everybody gets out and sees the movie and gets excited about it so that they can see a possible prequel spin off of us. You want to see it, you want to know where these guys come from. Andrew Koji: The Basho and Benny Chronicles.

About Boy Kills World

Close

Skarsgård stars as "Boy" who vows revenge after his family is murdered by Hilda Van Der Koy (Janssen), the deranged matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty that left the boy orphaned, deaf and voiceless. Driven by his inner voice, one which he co-opted from his favorite childhood video game, Boy trains with a mysterious shaman (Ruhian) to become an instrument of death and is set loose on the eve of the annual culling of dissidents. Bedlam ensues as Boy commits bloody martial arts mayhem, inciting a wrath of carnage and blood-letting. As he tries to get his bearings in this delirious realm, Boy soon falls in with a desperate resistance group, all the while bickering with the apparent ghost of his rebellious little sister.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Stay tuned for our other Boy Kills World interviews with:

Moritz Mohr

Famke Janssen & Brett Gelman

Boy Kills World is now in theaters.

Source: Screen Rant Plus